Not For Radio!
After our lovely, relaxed drinks sitting in the sun, Sophie and I returned to the hotel and had a nap before getting ready to go out to see the band, Not For Radio, at the Casino de Paris.
We were going to have drinks and snacks at the rooftop bar, but we changed our minds and decided to explore the side streets off the Rue des Abbesses and share a pizza at one of the Italian restaurants we'd seen last night.
The area was busy again with people enjoying an early drink, and we strolled along, occasionally looking at menus. However, Sophie fancied a pizza, as did I for a change, so we found the street where we had seen the Italian restaurants and looked at the menus of two eateries. There were three grouped together, and we found out that they were owned by the same people. Unfortunately, the pizza restaurant was closed, but the other two were open. We chose Al Caratella and the waiter showed us to a table near the window, next to two German girls.
It was a very pretty restaurant and the staff were lovely. At the same time as we went in, several other parties arrived to eat, so there was a great atmosphere. We chose mussels and arancini to share, with a side order of bruschetta. A pichet of rosé completed our order.
The food was good and plentiful, so I was glad we had decided to share! The arancini were huge, and there was an enormous serving of mussels in a delicious white wine sauce. Gradually, more and more people arrived to eat; the place was obviously popular!
Two women came in and sat to the side of us, and one of the women looked like Grace Dent! Our second "celebrity" sighting of the day! I find people fascinating, and love seeing what they order. The Grace Dent lookalike wasn't a drinker and ordered Coke to go with her meal... ugh!
After our meal, we both fancied something sweet, despite the ice cream we'd had earlier. We both ordered panna cotta, and it was perfect. With the pud, we had a glass of Amaretto each, a lovely ending to a memorable meal.
When we asked to pay the bill, the owner came over and poured us another shot of the liqueur. After paying, we stood outside waiting for an Uber that Sophie had ordered, and he came out and invited us to sit on the small bench in front of the restaurant. He said he was from Sri Lanka and had been in Paris for over forty years. He was obviously very successful with the three restaurants (the other place opposite was full as well). He deserved to do well as he was lovely and the staff were great!
Our Uber arrived and whisked us off to the Casino de Paris through Pigalle. This time, we were astonished to see an array of sex shops and sex shows lining the streets and right next to a hotel that Sophie had originally chosen to stay at, Le Chat Noir! We were glad we'd picked Terrass instead!
It didn't take long by taxi to get to the Casino de Paris, but we had made the right decision to order an Uber! We joined the throngs of very young people waiting to go into the auditorium, and I felt like I was the oldest person there! Pretty young women (much younger than Sophie!) drifted about in white or black lacy dresses. The theatre was old-fashioned and very red! We took our seats, and the place reminded me of our own Royal Theatre in Northampton. It wasn't particularly large, and there was a mezzanine floor above us. I did spot a woman of about my age, with her husband and daughter, so I felt a bit better!
Sophie and I were worried we were going to have another Erykah Badu experience, as we had learnt that sometimes Maria Zardoya, the lead singer of the group (previously of The Marias), was late coming on. We weren't going to leave this time, though! We were treated to a harpist first, which was beautifully relaxing, and the crowd loved her.
After another short interval in which more music was played, including, weirdly, the theme tune to Merry Christmas, Mr Lawrence, the lights dimmed, the crowd roared, and the curtain rose. Maria was curled up on a grassy hummock, dressed in white. Her voice came over the speakers, and she gradually rose to standing, showing off a huge white jacket intended to resemble the wings of a swan.
The show was fantastic, very theatrical and halfway through, a man dressed like a black swan appeared, they embraced, and then she "died". In the second half, she appeared all dressed in black.
She did the songs on her new album and at one point came into the audience! I had seen a big, burly bouncer make his way to the front and wondered what he was doing! He was obviously there to protect her! Sadly, she didn't come our way and finished her performance with the haunting "Back To You", which was fantastic. At the end, she linked arms with her band members, and they bowed to the audience, as if they had put on a play, which in some ways they had. She reminded me of a very young Kate Bush, with lots of theatrical movements with her arms and bending her body in impossible, very graceful ways. Oh, to be young again!
The lights came back on, the curtain fell, and it was over, no encores. We made our way to the foyer, and Sophie gave up on the idea of buying a T-shirt! Outside, we ordered an Uber and watched the throngs of youngsters leaving.
The Uber whisked us back to the hotel through very busy streets, and we decided against a nightcap! We had a long day tomorrow, our last in Paris, and we wanted to be up early to enjoy it!
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